March 2015 Acquisitions Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
The blades above seem to be the same as this ebay auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Vintage-Wilkinson-Sword-Stainless-Steel-Blades-pack-of-5-/271787937104 which suggests they are British made. With a barcode I suppose the best that could be expected is late 70s early 80s. Be interesting to see how they go.
I did not pay $9.99 per pack of 5 as in the above link, but would consider selling, or trading for them at that value.

I am pretty sure that is now me done on the buying front for the year.
 
Bulldog handle has arrived. This is sold as "blemished" stock. A quick once-over in the low light of the living room and I can't see any blemish. For $25.00 plus $10.00 postage from the states (a bit over a week) is a real bargain.

This handle is approximately 10-12mm shorter than the Barley chrome handle I had on my EJ DE89. The Bulldog is not as aesthetically pleasing as the Barley chrome, looking "dumpier" (short & fat). I used the straight for for usual evening shave tonight so the Bulldog gets it's first "outing" tomorrow morning.

Having screwed the handle on tonight it feels like all the weight is now in the head. This is probably due to the balance shifting due to the shorter handle. Feels ideally weighted though to "let the blade do the work - no pressure". The grip given by the extra knurling feels great. Can't wait till tomorrow morning.
Initially I was a bit under-whelmed this morning, The shorter handle just did not feel good in my hand. Great shave though. The extra grip from the knurling and being a heavier handle felt real good. By the end of my shave I had become accustomed to gripping the short handle and all was good. After getting accustomed to the "dumpier" look I actually found it "tough looking". It really looks "manly and tool like". Looks great sittingf next to my stainless steel straight. And with proper light on the handle - WHAT BLEMISH!!!

Wow @Dale.Whiley - you are acquiring some kit - why do you need all that stuff ???? ;)
Most of the kit came from you @Mark1966 . With the funds you've recouped you can now afford to go Stateside and get @borked and myself some Oogallala Bay Rum with Limes and Peppercorns. Let me know when to place my order.
 
iHerb are great - just a shame AUD has dropped so much recently.

Got to admit I am absolutely stoked at the pricing. Literally a third of what a local bike shop within 10km of me had them priced at, and that includes the delivery cost. Oh, and it is priced in AUD too, and direct CC payment so now PayPal fees or awful exchange rates.

Who cares about the lower AUD? Not me!

The delivery time is the fastest I have ever had from the US without paying for DHL, UPS or FedEx. 6 days from order to delivery via a consolidator plus local AusPost once it hit Sydney. Two thumbs up.

I hope these are good, as I've just bought 55 of them

I'd say they should be pretty good. Looks to be early-mid 80's vintage.

What's on the back of them? Does it have a barcode?
 
Don't know yet, but if they are the same as the eBay link I posted (and the front looks the same) then yes they do.
 
Hmm, received a parcel from the Czech Republic today.
Inside was a nice shave kit, made up of software alone.
All are Czech made, by the Alpa house.
p62729-kremnahol2012_285_285_116479.jpg

Alpa Windsor shave cream


p65450-windsorfreshbphsalantoinem100ml_285_285_159990.jpg

Alpa Windsor ASB

Both are due to...
p10854-fougere_285_285_26573.jpg

Alpa Fougere Eau de Cologne

Price you ask ?
The three before post works out to be less than $8aud, yes all three!
Posted was 426 Kč or less than $25aud (between $7-8 an item delivered).

Now, I had to show these off and seek the opinion of another member, yet what to compare them to ?
Hmm, *opens the safe and pulls out @Barrister & Mann Fougère Classique Alcohol Aftershave Splash* yep, that will do nicely and it's about time it took a road trip to visit someone.

So @filobiblic scent and packaging alone, what's your opinion of each ?
 
Oh, just checked the auction and yes they do
http://m.ebay.com/itm/271793865991

Barcode suggests that it was post 1974, although many products did not get them until the very late '70s or early '80s as there was not enough scanners in supermarkets.

I would suggest that they are probably very early 1980s.

Hmm, received a parcel from the Czech Republic today.

You know I would have sprung for some stuff in that, where was my heads up for combined postage?????
 
With the funds you've recouped you can now afford to go Stateside and get @borked and myself some Oogallala Bay Rum with Limes and Peppercorns. Let me know when to place my order.
Best make that a box each, just to be safe ;)
 
The B&M Fougere Classique wins hands down. Was it really a contest?! [emoji6]
Of course not, yet now you've had a bit of time to reflect, passing comments upon each ?
 
First real purchase of the year - had to let go of 2 RR Slants for this - but my Wolfman razor will be shipped today!!!
 
@borked , hmmmm interesting that they posted it as that AS has 70% or so alcohol. Do pop up your thoughts on them as thats an interesting source.

PS. FWIW the shaving section at drogeria-vmd.com is IMHO completely without anything of much interest. Lots of western supermarket branded crap but alas no homegrown Czech gems. Just going to look at a few other sections things could be lurking.

PPS. I think the Alpa stuff is the standout - here's a nice write up on them as a brand, they seem to be the hidden local gem I was alluding to hoping to find:
The company Alpa A.S. was founded in 1913 in old Emperor Franz Josep's Austro-Hungarian Empire, in the ancient Moravian village of Brno.

Their first product, ALPA rubbing alcohol - was such a hit, that in 1938 there were 196 employees necessary to meet the demand.

In 1948, after the catastrophe of the second World War the company moved to the city of Velké Mezirici.

Today Alpa is one of the oldest and most prestigious cosmetics manufacturers in the Czech Republic.

For fans of original scents from the by-gone imperial era, the supply of Alpa is a true treasure trove of fragrant nostalgia.

Aficianado's can find in Alpa, after shaves and eau de colognes with the classic scents of violet, lily of the valley, clove, Chypre or Fougere.

Ordinary people in East Europe in the 1920s & 1930s could not afford the expensive import fragrances from England or France.

Nevertheless they wanted to wear the favored scents of those days. Besides lavender and rose these were lily of the valley (a clean, neat fragrance), violet (a delicately romantic scent) and clove (the seducer scent).

The Bohemian Factory Alpa offered these scents at an affordable price. Today these clear, nostalgic fragrances are still popular & rightfully so - Alpa gives a high quality product at a bargain basement price.

We became acquainted with Alpa through their pretty amazing Fougere and we like it a lot, a whole lot. Happily, so did the customers who snagged a bottle.

Since the Foug is such an excellent product at a bargain price, we decided to bring in more Alpa products. This was a very good decision on our part (if I do say so myself) and we now offer probably the largest selection of these Czech gems than anyone outside of eastern Europe where these are every day products bought by millions of customers.

If you are not acquainted with Alpa, we suggest you snag a bottle of the Fougere (Fern) but we are confident that any you chose, you will enjoy. As we ourselves have enjoyed each & every one.
 
Last edited:
Ahh shoebox shaving, is that brief of theirs that sealed the deal.
Tried the ASB absorbs into the skin quickly, light inoffensive scent that reminds me of something I'm unable ro plave.
The Fougere Eau de Cologne got a run this morning.
Nice, quite traditional and thus far, no cheap chemical induced headache or reaction.
 
Barcode suggests that it was post 1974, although many products did not get them until the very late '70s or early '80s as there was not enough scanners in supermarkets.

I would suggest that they are probably very early 1980s.



You know I would have sprung for some stuff in that, where was my heads up for combined postage?????
Apologies mate.
Was untested, so took one for the team.
@filobiblic probably would be interested in an item or two and when I catch up with @MrT I hazard a guess he will also be interested after sampling the scents.
Might have to siund out if it's worth a organise a group buy :)
 
This arrived today. Was hoping from the eBay pics that it was a Chubby ....



You can see from the scale it was not :(
 
Not even a Simpson?

Might be a Case or similar equivalent from a while back - there is obviously a sticker mark but no sticker.

You win some you lose some!
 
j2QySW3.jpg

Look what arrived all the way from it's home in Portugal. My third, but littlest, little piggy!
Yep the three little pigs.
Can't wait that fortnight or so for my new little face scrubber to break-in.

HUGE thanks to @borked - for the #620 and my bonus gift (how did you know the 444 was running low mate?). SIM is on the way!
 
j2QySW3.jpg

Look what arrived all the way from it's home in Portugal. My third, but littlest, little piggy!
Yep the three little pigs.
Can't wait that fortnight or so for my new little face scrubber to break-in.

HUGE thanks to @borked - for the #620 and my bonus gift (how did you know the 444 was running low mate?). SIM is on the way!
I didn't.
It felt like the right thing to do mate, so just did it :)
Glad it worked out better than expected and hope your third piggy is everything you hope it it :)
Glad the SAS worked out better than you anticipated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top